Read Barcode: Legend of Apollo Online
Authors: Kashif Ross
Stephen’s trigger finger trembles. “I’m proud of what I do. The Colt family are the criminals that have taken over the Yang Arena. They probably killed them to do it.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, man. I killed a friend trying to get that through his head. But no, the Colt didn’t have much to do with that. It was a Helios thing, and I ended up doing most of the killing anyway. Now, I’m living with Dennis. It’s crazy.” Tony’s raised eyebrows turn into a frown. My previous speech belittling their progression may have reached him until I mentioned being a Colt. Or was it that I killed the Yang warriors? “Tony, you’re the more sensible one. Do you really want your men and slightly attractive lady to die here? You two could make a cute couple. Have some babies; a nice life.”
Rachel rolls her eyes as though Tony could never understand settling down. He’s not the type of guy to let something like that happen, I guess. Stephen looks over his shoulder with a fearsome sneer.
Tony replies, “There are seven guns pointed at you. You should stop talking like you have the upper hand. With no armor, you’re as good as dead if you try resisting.”
Several gears tick at the top of the cave. The sound is too faint for a normal human to notice, but every click and zip comes through clearly in my ears. That sound signals the end of my shift.
The small gap in the above classroom fully opens and a faint light shines in. Only Andrew responds by quickly glancing up. He timidly leans forward to observe Tony’s face. After a few seconds, he pops his bubble gum and cocks his Mac XII—a revolutionary machine gun with unparalleled precision.
I listen as Dennis sits down at an empty desk next to the cave’s entrance. Sluggishly, he devours the last bit of his bagel. Sounding slightly fatigued, he mutters, “Wrap up whatever you’re doing Kay. It’s not like you to be late.”
Finally, I open my eyes. Each man and woman lowers their weapon minutely. I flash my barcode to see the colors on their faces and hair. The tanned colors of their skin and richness of texture in their hair is all revealed to me. With my eyes open, I can finally see the vibrancy of their life.
Uncontrollably, I smile. I’m always amazed at how beautiful the world is. Without Tartarus limiting my sight, the world practically dances on my eyes. Everything is so captivating.
I assume that the militia are just as mesmerized. Seeing the barcodes must be a wild experience. Most people can’t understand why I’d have them in my eyes, but it’s simple. Evolution.
A large portion of our society believe barcodes share power with gods. That’s nonsense for devout idiots. Barcodes began as steroids. As technology advanced, so did humans. Not long after, hundreds of people were born with the power already on their skin. Sure, prophets relate some data to gods, but there isn’t a being looking down on us and answering prayers. You could ask the soldiers I’m about to kill. Regardless of who they praise, no one can save them.
“I apologize, but I won’t be able to allow you all to live. I have an appointment with the Seal of Solomon.”
Stephen is the first and only person to fire a shot, but all the others see is a pile of smoke dancing where I was standing a second ago. It’s a technique I learned from Takashi, the liminal being that predicted my birth.
It requires releasing small forces directed at the eyes. The energy disrupts whatever debris lies behind the eye and creates a shadow in the onlooker’s vision. If you’re unaware of what’s happening, your reaction time will be delayed, creating a window of opportunity to close in.
These killers are obviously experienced. They cover each others’ backs and fire into the distance. It’s natural to assume mortal-level fighters without the power of the gods are easy to kill. That’s a gladiator mentality. In the real world, it’s best to not underestimate anyone’s skill.
That’s why I’m hiding behind a large rock, listening to the patterns of their shots. They’re ricocheting bullets off rocks to cover more ground. I don’t have much time until one finds me.
I wait until Andrew empties his clip. He releases it and radiates the barcode on his palm. His reload time is amazing, but it provides me with just enough room to launch Shiva, in trident form, at Tony.
Rachel steps in front of its blades and releases an exceptionally mournful cry. Tony catches her and lowers her to the ground. While the others are distracted, I sneak behind Andrew. The anxious one, Stephen, shoots four wild rounds, striking his friend in the heart when I hold him for cover. I vanish into the cloud of smoke as he rationalizes what he’s done. The others lose focus, which allows me to pick them off until only Tony and Stephen are left.
Rachel cries herself to sleep, possibly praying to see heaven or some other nonsense. Still broken over his loss, Tony grabs his gun and calms his breath. Knowing Tony is the most experienced, I wish I still had Shiva as a shield. With his thoughts focused, I’m likely to enter a tough battle.
The barcode on his neck glows orange.
Stephen shouts, “Tony, he has Andrew’s—”
I release a shot from Andrew’s gun that pierces through his skull.
Though the blood spills on Tony’s face, he hardly flinches. He instantly lifts his gun from the ground and fires a round in my direction. The swift motion causes me to accidentally throw my hands in the air and release a slightly feminine cry. Laughing at myself, I duck behind another rock.
The tattoo on Tony’s neck probably means he’s an ex-soldier. Though I don’t know his ability, I’m not willing to risk finding out what he can do.
“There’s no way for us to leave without one of us dying and both of us getting hurt, you know?”
Tony nods, “But there’s a 34.8% probability that I’ll find and kill you. I think you’re behind one of two rocks. I could bounce a bullet off the smooth stone forty yards ahead of me and strike you in the arm, but that would give you enough time to plant one in my head” He holds his gun pointed at at the correct rock.
I could still dodge this bullet and possibly kill him without a scratch, but I don’t know my chances. He’s obviously the mathematician.
“You could still leave.”
“I thought you said we had to die.”
“I said that because I need to get out of here. You’re the idiot that wouldn’t listen to all my other warnings.” My breath is heavy.
Killing people with their level of skill takes a lot of energy, and I know going after Tony will be a monumental task. He’s not like gladiators, who only think about fighting head-on. Tony’s experience makes him consider every possible outcome. Taking on ten thousand mortal level gladiators is the equivalent to someone of his caliber.
“You know if I leave, I’ll come back for you.”
“I killed Rachel. That’s fair.”
“How’d you know so much about us?”
“I listen.”
Tony wipes his forehead, and notices the blood on his hand and chest. Checking his armor, he sees half of a bullet lodged into his chest. “Hmph,” he wheezes. “Where’d that come from?”
“I guess one of Stephen’s four shots got you. I didn’t notice in all the commotion.”
“Damn...Damn.” Tony laughs at the blood leaking from his torso, “I told his mother he wasn’t ready yet.”
“Who is his mother?”
“My wife.”
“Who is Rachel then?”
“My sin.” Tony’s gun falls to the ground as he stumbles to his knee. “Hey.”
“Yeah?” There’s no longer a need to hide. I slowly and quietly approach Tony as he trembles and gasps for air.
“This hurts.”
I hasten Tony’s death with Andrew’s Mac XII. Though I hate to disrespect her corpse, I have to step on Rachel in order to tear the weapon from her body. It doesn’t help that Shiva produces electricity to shock me. She always zaps me whenever I’ve picked up another weapon.
“I’m sorry, alright?” Once her fit is over, I convert Shiva back into the wrist guards I’ve worn since I killed Spencer. Though I loved my signature gloves, Dennis changed my image so I’d go unnoticed.
I run past Tony’s body, and dash into the dark, up what feels like an infinite spiral, stone staircase. It takes two minutes to sprint all the way to the top.
The second I resurface, Dennis wraps me in his arms, like always. We’re the same height, and two grown men hugging seems strange, but I’m not going to complain. I didn’t even know what a hug felt like until he gave me one last year.
Dennis analyzes my situation with the barcode on his pinky finger. Once he processes the data, the big man in a nice black suit asks, “Why’d you try so hard to turn him around?”
“I didn’t want to kill him. You can read my thoughts with that code. Why do you always ask obvious questions?”
“I can read your situations and do my best to interpret them, but I have no insight into thoughts.”
“Didn’t seem like that the first time you touched me.”
“I had both you and Spencer’s body to get a lot of information from. Not to mention, I shook Blake’s hand before seeing you.”
I take a seat directly next to his table. I practically have to stand all night because I’m too paranoid to sit in the dungeon. There are all types of nasty creatures on the floor.
“So did you convince your brother to wrap me in the bandages?”
“Yeah. It came with a hefty cost, but I let him know it was you. He’d get the information from the ring anyway.”
“What cost?”
“Colt Arena.”
I stand abruptly. “What the hell, Dennis?”
Since Dennis adopted me, he’s never done more than smile. But right now, his face twitches, “Trust me.”
My body aches and I’m too tired to fight something he seems so adamant about. I wipe my face and find my seat again.
“But this is your entire legacy. It’s everything you’ve built.”
“I still have control of Yang Arena, though the people don’t want me there. If I need to start another stadium, I can. For now, I’d like to remember what it’s like to experience life. Travel for leisure and not business. Smoke a cigar without paperwork in front of me. Maybe being a real dad.”
“I’m eighteen years old. It’s a little too late for that.”
“I’m thinking of having another kid.”
“If you even try getting at Hayley, I’ll kill you. There’s no way I’m letting you form a relationship with my mom without telling her the truth.”
Dennis grunts, “Are you ever going to call her mom to her face?”
“I didn’t call her
mom
. I said Hayley.”
He smirks briefly, but the joy doesn’t last long enough. Dennis is an expert at reading my facial expressions. Once he notices my slight head turn and scrunched eyebrows, his shoulders tense up.
“What do you see?”
“Someone’s about to die on your campus.”
“Who? I’ll have security tail them.”
My eyes trace an unfamiliar Indian guy as he stalks a group of female students near the front of the school. The suspicious-looking student casually peeks over his shoulders nearly every fifteen seconds. Two strange men in armor are also on the premises. They’re pretending to be students, but the one checking his phone hasn’t changed his screen since I’ve exited the dungeon. The other is hiding in an empty room.
I’m not sure who they’re after, but something’s not right. Unfortunately, the larger Indian guy’s phone conversation hasn’t revealed enough yet.
The hitman is heavyset but wears sleek brown armor. He has short, greasy hair that shines as though he moisturizes with petroleum jelly. Judging from his demeanor and swag, he’s a cook for a food truck from East Los Angeles. The Spanish and Indian accent tradeoff is a dead giveaway.
The small barcode imprinted on his neck means he’s a mortal-level student, but he’s received training from somewhere special. For being so overweight, he’s extremely light on his toes.
His fat tongue looks as though it’s dripping with fish oil as it rolls off his lips and he wheezes into the phone, “No. I see her...She’s not alone, but she’s never alone...Yes. I can make it seem like an accident...I told you,
yes
. I’ll do it now...You’ve known me for a year. When have I ever messed up a hit? It’s you that kills off everyone I work well with...Dustin of course. If he were still around, she’d be dead by now. The weak tramp couldn’t put up a fight if she tried.”
“No time.”
“Tell me, and I’ll stop them.”
Zipping up my hood and closing my eyes, I repeat, “No time.”
“Kay, if I let you do this, you have to be subtle. Don’t kill him.”
I frown with disgust, “Are you serious?”
“Try bringing him in safely.”
“He has a team of two guys. You want me to bring all of them in safely? Give me a break.”
“I’ll help.”
“You can’t come. One sight of you, and they’ll run. I want to know who they’re chasing so I can protect them.”
“You think it’s a cute girl, don’t you?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Just the other day, you listened to a ten-year-old girl get beaten to death, but you didn’t interrupt because I told you to lay low. You still need to stay low, and you’re only minutes away from making sure you’re never exposed. We can walk upstairs right now, and no one will ever know you’re Kode. But you’d rather risk it. She must be very easy on the eyes.”
“If I’m correct, it’s a really cute girl, and I’d gladly volunteer my protection services.”
“Alive, Kay.”
I stand and stroll out of the room, “We’ll see man.”
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